Inevitable Pursuit
by Cleiry
Summary: Story of SasuSaku, NaruHina, a little bit of DeiSaku in the beginning but it'll die out o O A young girl name Sakura, desperate, tries to find out who HE is and recover from her recent trauma beacause of him I guess
1. Is Life Supposed to be Like This?

CHAPTER 1: IS LIFE SOPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS?

Everything's gone wrong ever since he left her; ever since he left his best friend. And, of course, ever since he's left everything behind to eventually be shot back to the real world once it was too late. Sasuke Uchiha, of the Uchiha Clan, had gone away on his journey to search for more. He was beginning to regret everything he had done, said, and caused. Now he'll never see them again. A new life was about to start. Sasuke hopes, someday, he would get to visit every single person in the village- especially her- just as soon as he was done.

Sasuke Uchiha, the obsidian haired teenage boy, stood adjacent to a man with gruesome, pallid skin. His yellow piercing eyes seemed to glow faintly in the seemingly darkness. It was like this every time they watched T.V.

"I can't believe you had enough money to purchase this stupid lair, this television, all sorts of black magic crap and Christmas decorations but not a simple couch, or even a chair!" Sasuke complained. The man next to him chuckled and turned his head over to the boy's direction.

"Ah, Sasuke; shouldn't you be training?" the man asked like he normally would any day. He turned back to the screen and his smile faded. A familiar pink haired girl miraculously made it on the news. It was probably another "amazing" discovery of some medicinal herb. The man rolled his eyes and teased Sasuke. "Oh look Sasuke, it's your girlfriend."

Sasuke attempted to punch the guy in the face only to be constricted by a snake that came out of nowhere.

"I told you, you need to train more. Besides, it was only a joke," the man sighed. They both knew the pink haired girl was abandoned by Sasuke a long time ago. Sasuke still had those memories taunting him every night; they were in his dreams and thoughts. It was unavoidable. The man flipped the channel to a different channel with a complicated looking remote.

"Oh look Orochimaru, it's your BOYfriend." Sasuke remarked, pointing at the shrouded body at the screen.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. At least I could take a joke," the man known as Orochimaru said.

"Who said it was a joke?"

After two seconds of nothingness, Sasuke felt a stabbing pain against his head, followed by a black out.

"You make me sick," was the last warped voice Sasuke heard and the rest of the night was taken over by silence.

A bright light shone. It was dawn. Sasuke got up and rubbed his eyes thoroughly. Orochimaru chastises him each time he "misbehaved" by knocking the daylights out of him. Sasuke was pretty used to it, though it annoyed him so much. Still groggy, Sasuke decided to pour himself a hot cup of coffee. After that, he walked towards the dining table only to find no place to rest. Sasuke scoffed to himself and leaned against a nearby counter to extinguish his thirst and drowsiness. Orochimaru walked into the room wearing a teddy bear covered bathrobe. Sasuke spat out his drink from the horrifying sight of the outfit his current Sensei was wearing.

"What…the…hell?" Sasuke emphasized each word slowly, mouth hanging wide open. Orochimaru folded the newspaper he was clutching onto in half and set it aside.

"Oh, this thing?" Orochimaru pointed to his outfit," My granddaughter made it for me. Lovely, isn't it?"

"YOU have a granddaughter." Sasuke repeated in disbelief. His trembling hands that were holding onto the cup released its grip and dropped it. The cup fell to the floor, shattering into countless pieces.

Orochimaru nodded. He looked distressed and angered from what Sasuke said. The man grabbed the newspaper and headed towards his room. Sasuke watched in shock as Orochimaru left him hanging there with so many questions just flying around, unanswered, inside his head. Sasuke began to clean up the cup he had destroyed and tossed the pieces into the waste basket.

Sometimes, Sasuke wondered why he was actually following where Orochimaru was going. He could easily find some stronger dark character and follow him instead. Sasuke considered the Akatsuki before he thought about his brother, who had betrayed him and his clan and killed them all. Sasuke shook his head away from the thought and walked outside. He turned to stare at a bird settled on a tree branch. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and focused on the bird for a simple target. Surprisingly enough, nothing happened. That is, except for a major headache. Shortly afterwards, he opened his eyes.

_Cold. He feels the presence of a relative he loves dearly. No, the relative is not who everyone thinks he is. Sasuke starts to face the man who holds Sasuke's hand firmly in his. They are surrounded by a group of thugs, or so Sasuke had thought. The feeling of pity rises inside the young child, for he is with a very powerful ninja, and nobody can get in their way. He notices the man next to him is starting to tense up a bit._

"_Sasuke," murmurs the man urgently," you're going to do whatever I tell you to do, got it?" He looks down to the ground, his long bangs covering his blood red eyes. Sasuke thinks this is a joke and happily complies to play this little game. "I want you to-"he continues, but was interrupted by laughter from one of the group surrounding them._

"_Are you just going to stand there?" A person in the shadows snickers._

"_See what I tell you about these Uchihas?" Another voice booms._

"_Ah yes Kisame, very interesting. Two people who stand there and do nothing. How 'powerful'," Says a voice behind them. There are three people and they are wearing the same style of clothing. A large black coat, decorated with clouds, outlined with thick white is what they are wearing. _

"_You guys think you're so tough!-"the man beside Sasuke grasps the boy's mouth to keep him from talking. _

"_Looks like we got ourselves an annoying brat." The voice Sasuke hears turns out to be a strange yet human-like creature. He emerges from the trees. One side of him is white while the other side coats with coal. He has grassy green hair. There is no way this giant plant like creature could fit into the black robes!_

_Sasuke gets mad from the plant's insult that he frees himself from the hand and shouted," My uncle can beat the three of you, both hands tied!"_

_The luminous threesome begins to laugh. Sasuke stares wide-eyed with confusion. _

"_Sasuke! Run, now!" The vague but familiar voice commands. He doesn't have a choice. He doesn't know what to expect. There isn't any time to stop. Sasuke whirls his head around to see a large, vicious raven attacking him; the same raven that he has in his nightmares recently. He screams in agony but still keeps running. The bird follows him and mocks his every movement. _

Sasuke blinked a few more times. He was back in reality. He snatched the bird flying towards him and mercilessly twisted its neck. The bird dropped to the ground, dead. Sasuke noticed the bird was a flaming bright red, not at all like the dark, profane raven he saw.

"Damn that Orochimaru," he muttered," he hits me so many times that I am starting to randomly see flashbacks now." He kicked the bird to the side and sat down on a bunch. Looking around, Sasuke noticed this placer seemed quite familiar. It had a crystal blue lake just like home and bunches and bunched of trees. It reminded him of… home.

Sasuke looked back at the ephemeral bird he had demolished. Its mouth hung wide open, as if it was importuning him to save it. Sasuke bent over to get a closer look. Suddenly, he involuntarily began to pick the bird up. He had succumbed to his conscience, to give the animal a grand funeral. He neatly dug a hole and gingerly placed the carcass inside. After it was buried, he presented his conscience his affection by making a miniature gravestone. Sasuke thought everything he did just a while ago was ridiculous.

The desolate park was getting dark. Sasuke sensed someone's presence and automatically stood straight up after from sitting on the soft grass. Then he finalized with a defensive stance. He spotted a young girl, who was probably aged ten to eleven. She stood at location as if she had been there the whole time, hindering someone or something. It was hard to see the girl, for no light casted a shadow. Sasuke did somehow see a small smile smeared onto the strange girl.

"So. You're Sasuke. We finally meet." The girl said. Sasuke was quite surprised when the girl spoke in a deeper tone than he though. He imagined squeaks, as high-pitched as mice. The size of the girl was somewhat comparable to a mouse, anyways.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" Sasuke asked, still in his stance. She laughed. Her laughter was like chimes, jingling in the wind.

"Ha, I have got to admit; you're actually a lot cuter in person." The girl giggled. Her menacing smile then flashed into an abominable frown.

"I have to go," said the girl coolly," and you should, too." Both the voice and the body faded into the black. Sasuke looked around, only to be found alone again. He relaxed back to his standing position.

_Man _Sasuke thought _there will never be a regular day for me… will there? Why does something strange like this always happen to me? Ah, well. The girl is correct. I must leave. _

Sasuke stole another glance at the gravestone of the bird he had eradicated before parting.

The vacant exorbitant room stretched as far as the eye could see. The furnishing was not where they should be. Sasuke peeked at the giant grandfather clock the towered high above him. It read 1:39. The area seemed to be so desolate for a moment that Sasuke was sure everyone had gone on to bed. Of course, his theory was proven wrong when a savage beast dashed through the room impetuously. It had dirt spiked fur and curved, pointed teeth. Its eyes seemed ravenous for hunting as its tail whipped past in the air. The wild thing seemed dog-like, with its shiny black nose and tongue lolling lazily out of its jaw. After a second, the animal seemed to have disappeared in midair.

"Oh Sasuke, back already?" called out a disgruntled voice.

"What happened here, Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked.

"Babysitting- Why do you ask?"

"Babysitting… A DOG?" Sasuke managed to choke out. His mind continued to calculate the strange mutt the whizzed by pass him with a baby. It imploded, and brought him back to Orochimaru's eloquent face.

"You haven't happened to see a rather large dog, have you?"

Sasuke's hand rose slowly, yet steadily, to the direction of where the animal went. Orochimaru closed his eyes and concentrated. Then he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

That night was the first night ever that Sasuke did not get knocked out. He had gotten so used to this daily routine that he had forgotten how tired he was.

_I should sneak out more often _thought Sasuke, exuberant that his head had no homicidal attacks.

Sasuke had begun to wonder if he even had his own room. Living with Orochimaru was different from living with any other human. Everyone in his so called group had to move out at least once a month to find a much safer haven for Orochimaru to plan his attacks.

While Sasuke pondered on that, he also wondered why Orochimaru was up so late. That thought began to bug him so he shook it off.

"Sorry about that." The thick smoke returned, revealing the paled skinned man holding a dog twice his size on a leash.

All Sasuke could do was blink at the sight.

"Oh, this little guy? I have to keep watch for him sometimes."

"Why do you call that thing 'little'?" Sasuke questioned. The height of the canine's head to toe reached half the height of Orochimaru. An average sized large dog would be half the size of that.

"Compared to its mother-"

"Oh…. Mother you say…"

"You would rather care for the baby."

"You're taking care of a _dog _when you could be training _me?"_

"Oh, how tempting," Orochimaru said sarcastically.

"… just forget what I said…" Sasuke spoke quickly," and your nightly knockouts made me so used to them that I don't even know where I sleep!"

"Would you like to be knocked out?"

Those were the last words Sasuke heard until everything seemed to slow down to a complete stop. The feeling he felt back at the park came back to him. Only, this feeling was dizzier than the last.

Orochimaru eyed Sasuke curiously as his head was held tightly between his hands. The boy began to sway a little until he gave and plummeted to the floor.

"Oh, never mind then." Orochimaru quickly and silently vanished from where he was standing.

_An icy breeze whips in the air, whistling past Sasuke's ears. The terrible fear of the bird disappears, but only to be replaced by a new one. He leans against a thick tree trunk, sinking into a conversation just a few feet from him._

_"You're a riot, "mutters the one called Kisame. Something about the blue skinned man makes Sasuke twitch._

_"Ha!" chortles a rough voice," the kid's going to come back at any moment now, and what's your brilliant plan then?"_

_The rough voiced man is two colors, black and white. There is a split down the middle of his face so one side is white and the other black. Two yellow eyes glow with amusement after he speaks._

_"What do you think?" a sketchy voice inquires. Sasuke sees that his uncle appearance has changed. Instead of smooth, silky hair always hanging down to his eyes, he has every string of hair pointing straight up. Sasuke can actually see his face and it's not pretty. Thick, deep scars drags down on his face. His eyes are blood red._

_"I don't know, that's why we're asking you." A friendlier voice answers. It seems the two sides of the black and white colored man have different personalities. The white is like yin and the black is yang. It is a mystery of why he has grass green hair and yellow eyes._

_"If I knew Sasuke, I'd say he'd gone home and never come back to this spot, Zetsu." Says Sasuke's uncle calmly," besides, he's a good boy. He would never disobey my orders."_

Why is he talking to them, _thought Sasuke, his heart beating rapidly. _

_"Mmm...," murmurs a voice behind him," Uchiha blood smells better than I could ever imagine. I wonder what it tastes like…"_

_"If Sasuke was still here, I'd know it anyway." Brags the uncle. _

_"Ahh!!!" Sasuke screams. In his haste, he trips over a spiky root and rolls down a steep hill. _

_"And that was Sasuke, wasn't it?" the uncle laughs nervously. He looks over to where Sasuke has fled. _

_"Ha! Nice one!" Zetsu cheers. He and Kisame high fives. _

_"So what about it, Madara? Would you like to join Akatsuki?" the shadow asks. _

_"Well…" the uncle called Madara replies," Sure. I just need you all to wait before that happens." _

_"Aw, c'mon Madara," Kisame complain," I'm the only one without a partner right now!"_

_"Why not be partners with Zetsu?"_

_"Hello? Zet and Su? Kisame points out._

_"Right… I'm sure you'll find a better partner anyways. I'd rather do things alone." Madara leaps away so quickly that he was gone in a second._

_"There's always Sasuke," Zetsu laughs._

_"No… Fucking… Way." Kisame emphasized each word emotionlessly._

Everything around Sasuke was pitch black. He felt as if his head had been smashed open with a mallet. Warm air and the stench of putrid meat blew onto his face. He quickly stood up and gagged at that terrible smell. The mongrel was within inches of him.

"Ugh, gross." Sasuke groaned, disgusted. He pinched his nose together to prevent another waft of smell from attacking. He knew being evil would give you many flaws, but sleeping dogs was out of the question!

_I don't remember Uncle Madara being asked to join Akatsuki. _Sasuke thought _I wasn't even there during that time… how did I see? Most importantly, why is the dog still here? And the Akatsuki…  
_Sasuke's mind was interrupted by soft tapping sound, footsteps. Blinding light glared from above after the noise ceased.

"Orochimaru," Sasuke spoke," tell me who else lives in this building, other than us two and Kabuto. "

There was silence.

"Well?" Sasuke continued.

Orochimaru swallowed. Then he shouted in the most bizarre tone ever," Great news Sasuke! We're moving again! Pack your things, we're heading out tomorrow!"

"Excuse me?"

"You're going to love the new place I've found!"

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"Ah… uh… It's past the one month mark, time to skedaddle!"

It really had been one month since they moved into this destroyed laboratory. Sasuke was forced to move to different places once a month to train in many different environments. Orochimaru usually used his move excuse on him if he tried to hide something in the area they are living in. It got pretty annoying for Sasuke once he'd lived with him for a year.

_Well, anywhere would be better than this lab _thought Sasuke, staring out the window. The whole area was way too cramped to train, anyways. Sure, it'd be fun to smash a bunch of machinery, but that would "cause trouble" for the neighbors. They finally got to depart from this hellhole.

_What have I gotten myself into? _Sasuke thought. _It's like I'm in a circus. _He folded his multiple matching outfits into neat folded squares. Then he placed them into his briefcase. After that, he puts on his emergency tie and suit, so he could be camouflaged with the surrounding outside.

"My my Sasuke, don't we look dashing?" Orochimaru came in wearing diva sunglasses, a pink frilly blouse, followed by a long skirt with matching shoes.

Sasuke averted the disgusting disguise without a word. The worst thing he had on was a giant yellow sunflower hat with a pink flower attached to it. A disturbing feeling rose through him when Orochimaru spoke again.

"So we're ready to go?"

"Orochimaru, could you dress as your gender for once every time we move out?"

"What? But I like this disguise!"

"Yeah, well, people are going to look at us and jump to the wrong conclusions!"

"Uh, hello? I have the perfect hair for It anyways." Orochimaru swept back his long black hair to the side," Kabuto, come. You too, Madeline," Orochimaru said the last word coldly.

"Madeline?" Sasuke turned to see Kabuto and a woman in the shadows in deep embrace," Who is that woman? I've never seen her in my life before!"

Orochimaru laughed," Oh Sasuke! You're so hilarious! That's my cousin, sadly. I thought I had no other relatives. Sadly, I was wrong."

Sasuke walked off before he could reach any more details about Kabuto and Madeline.


	2. It Just Won't Go Away

CHAPTER 2: IT JUST WON'T GO AWAY

"What?" Sakura Haruno shouted as her hands grasped tightly to the edge of the desk. Twitching, she slowly released her grip and crossed her arms to prevent violence," I dare you to say that again."

An older version of Sakura was staring back at her. Her name was Tsunade, and she was the Hokage of Konoha. Her eyes were quite similar to Sakura's emerald ones except Tsunade's were milk chocolate. Compared to Sakura's hair, hers was a sunny blonde.

"Sakura," Tsunade sighed," you have no other choice but to complete this mission. I'm assigning you with Naruto."

"Naruto? JUST Naruto! Are you setting me up? You know I hate it when people do that! I bet he told you to do something like that!" Sakura ranted through her tightly clenched teeth.

"Nope. Actually, the reason why you and Naruto are the only ones doing this mission is because you two are the only ones who are not invited to the party."

"What party?"

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

"The party." Tsunade muttered quietly.

"What party?"

"G-get out!" Tsunade stammered, her razor sharp fingernail pointing towards the door.

Sakura childishly stuck her tongue out at her a turned away. She smiled to herself and then slammed the door behind her, while walking out, with all her strength. The noise echoed in the corridors. She paused for a moment, but then skipped off with a smug look on her face.

An older looking girl with short hair and bangs hanging loosely at the sides slowed her pace as she spotted Sakura.

"Sakura!" the lady called out. Her arm clutched a pig called Tonton while her hand waved wildly above her charcoal colored hair.

"Sakura!" yelled an even more enraged voice.

_What a darn shame _Sakura thought. _Well, I hope the whole mission will be canceled._

Sakura held a nice hot, steamy bowl of soup. She took a sip of it. Though it burned the inside of her mouth, it felt nice as she breathed into the chilly night air. She closed her eyes while she gently placed the bowl back on the table and sighed.

Sakura did not notice the climate she was in was freezing until a puff of mist came in view right after she sighed. She began to shiver and rubbed her hands together for warmth. She was sitting outside of a restaurant, wearing a red short sleeved dress. The dress reached just below the pelvic area with black shorts right under it. Sakura glanced down at her feet to see they were in brown leather sandals.

_I wish I brought a jacket… This is pointless _Sakura thought. _Sulking is no way to go, Sakura!_

During her walk home, there stood a stalwart bench in her path. That was the same bench she was knocked out onto. Even thought that brought back an abominable memory; it was the last memory she ever had of him, and she'll never forget it. Sakura placed her hand on the surface of the wood. It ran across it, smoothing the rough textures carved onto it. This bench was always in the way towards home. She just so happen to see the scoured yet ancient bench standing firmly on top of concrete.

Sakura stood in front of the bench and began to contemplate in a trace. She had made and oath to herself to forget about him. That was never going to happen; she broke that oath in an inordinate amount of times. She was not absolved from the fact that she'll never forget him, whoever he was. Sakura could remember his features perfectly: his shadowy dark eyes, his hair that sticks out wonderfully in the back like leaves of a pineapple, and the first time he's ever smiled at her. A glowing, warm feeling rose inside of her after thinking about this.

Unable to resist any longer, she plopped herself on top of the last memory of her first love. She sensed she was being watched, but Sakura didn't care. All anxiety and stress were cleansed right out of her while she leaned against the bench to look up at the night sky.

_If only I could sit here forever _Sakura thought. _People might think I'm crazy… but it's better than forgetting about him. It was a lot less painful. It's a necessity. Wow… I must have issues obsessing over a bench… No. I am not obsessing over a bench. I am obsessing over that boy._

"Sakura-chan?" a voice called out softly.

"Go away, Naruto." Sakura said flatly.

"Sakura, it's late," Naruto revealed himself from the bushes.

"Tell that to somebody who cares."

"Why are you out here so late?"

"Why do you care?"

"Sakura… what's happened to us? We used to be friends-"

"Oh, so you think we're not friends now?"

"That's not it," Naruto hesitated," we are but we haven't really talked since the incident."

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes widened with desperation. An incident? What could be so important that could affect her and Naruto's friendship? Sakura thought of him as a little brother, fun and yet monstrous raspy.

"And why do you sit on that bench all the time?" Naruto asked curiously, peeking over at the wooden structure," seems like any old bench to me."

"Wait… how do you know I sit on this bench _all_ the time?" Sakura asked suspiciously. 

Naruto paused for a moment to rethink the previous event that got him where he was now.

_Naruto is face to face with Tsunade. There is a twisted smile smeared onto her face. Tsunade's eyes seem to gleam hungrily. _

"_Are you ready for you next mission, future Hokage?" Tsunade asks._

_That question always gets to him, making him twitch with excitement._

"_Believe it!" Naruto's scowl turns into a wide grin," bring it on, Granny!" _

_Tsunade's smile__turned wicked as she announces," You're next mission, Naruto Uzumaki, is S-ranked. This will improve all the failures you've made in the past."_

"_Really? An S-ranked mission?" Naruto shouts, astounded. Suddenly, his awe turns to suspicion," Alright, what's the catch?"_

"_Your mission is to spy on Sakura Haruno, undetected," Tsunade's teeth flash the cheesiest smile Naruto has ever seen._

"_What?" Naruto screams. He has a few flashbacks of Sakura breaking every single bone in his body for the last few years._

"_And you have to report to me about her with every detail." Tsunade informs._

"_That's stalking, and I am nothing like Pervy Sage!" Naruto rejects._

"_Ah, but then how did Jiraya become one of the Legendary Sanin, hm?"_

"_He probably spent most of his life spying on you." Naruto murmurs quietly so Tsunade cannot hear what he is saying._

"_You fail the mission if you get caught by anybody or until you die."_

"_But why do I have to do this mission? Why not a ninja that's higher ranked that me?"_

"_Oh believe me," Tsunade mutters," I've tried everyone. I've even tried Jiraya. I tried her own parents. They, of course, all said no like you did. You were the last person I had in mind."_

"_What if I still won't do it?"_

"_Oh, I know you would do anything for an opportunity like this, Uzumaki. Don't try and hide it."_

"…_I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right for once, Granny Tsunade." Naruto concedes._

"_Meet me here once a month for details. And Naruto if you fail this mission, you will never become Hokage." Tsunade warned._

_The very next month, Naruto comes back to the Hokage's office. He walks forward, staring at nothing but emptiness of space. His expression looks a little weary and his voice seems hoarse as he speaks._

"_I give up." Naruto simply says._

"_What do you mean 'give up?'" Tsunade asks, enraged._

"_You already knew there was something wrong with her all along…"_

"_No duh, that's why you're assigned this mission, Naruto! Now tell me; what seemed odd about Sakura?"_

"_Ever since that incident," Naruto murmurs emotionlessly," she's been taking the long route home to her house. Instead of those measly 5 minutes to come, she takes a whopping 30 minutes to get home. She probably met someone at a location every day. I couldn't see, it was too dark. I followed her anyways, stumbling because there are no lights in the streets. She was alone, Granny, and she talks to herself. She sits there on that same bench, every night. It's just not like her."_

_Tsunade looks thoughtful for a moment, her fingers drumming quietly against her desk's surface._

"_That's not all you did," Tsunade edges him on._

"_You know me so well." Naruto compliments," I walked over to Sakura-chan. She smiled at me. That freaked me out. She's never smiled since the event that transpired. So thinking she was over it, O asked her if she was still depressed over Sasuke. There was long silence. Then Sakura used her arm to cover her eyes. I thought she was crying but she sat there on the bench, so still. I reached my hand over to comfort her but she slapped it away. The next second, she had her arms wrapped around me. It was painful, constricting the air out of me. I could barely breathe. Sakura was having hysterics; she was laughing and crying at the same time. Whatever she was saying to me was unclear, but I'm pretty sure she was saying 'Sasuke'. I never knew she was strong enough to keep me imprisoned; I had to stand there and listen to all her blubbering."_

"'_Why, Sasuke, why?" were the words she said the most. Sakura-chan whimpered my name a few times too, surprisingly. After those five minutes of complete torture, the uncontrollable sobbing ceased. Sakura's arms swung loosely back to her sides. Then she looked down to the floor and laughed the most frightening laugh I have ever heard. Then I sprinted off before anything else happened," Naruto exhales after speaking for an infinite amount of time._

"_It's worse than I thought," Tsunade whispers._

"_I'm desperate to find Sasuke, too!" Naruto exclaims. He towers above Tsunade in a second," We have to find him! I can't stand this! Why aren't you letting anyone look for him?"_

"_That's highly classified!"_

"_Sasuke's my best friend! I can't be having him controlled by Orochimaru!"_

"_Nor could I, but we have no leads to where the whereabouts of Sasuke, so we must stay put."_

"_I don't care if you close down the ramen shop! I will look for Sasuke even if it means going to Pluto or maybe another universe! I will do everything in my power to find him! I made a promise to Sakura; it's my ninja way!"_

"_Ah Naruto, still naïve as ever."_

_Oh God _Naruto thought. _This better not be déjà vu._

Miraculously, Sakura did not smile. Instead, she looked drained and out of it. Naruto noticed it was chilly around them so he offered her his coat.

"T-t-t-thanks but no thanks," Sakura shivered," and about the incident… what do you mean by that?"

Naruto quickly got taken aback and stumbled backwards. He crouched defensively into the shadows.

"Naruto?" Sakura got up with a bewildered expression.

"Don't you remember anything about the last time we met?" Naruto asked hastily.

"When we were training with Kakashi sensei."

"Anything after that?" 

"No, not that I could recall of anyways."

"Sakura-chan… you went crazy when I said his name, just crazy."

"W-Who's name?"

"…"

"It's the boy in our squad, wasn't it?" Sakura voiced pitched up a little higher.

"…"

"Naruto, please tell me his name!" Sakura begged.

_Why does my life have to be like a soap opera? _Naruto thought.

"Please…" Sakura repeated. Both her hands shrouded her face, hiding her tears, her shame," I see him everywhere! I see him in my memories, my thoughts, and my dreams! It won't go away! Everything about him won't leave! I can't take this, Naruto! I think I knew him before but now, I don't even know his name!"

It took a moment for Naruto to grasp at what she was saying. Eventually, he understood and stared at Sakura in a state of shock.

"You don't remember his name?" Naruto asked, stunned.

"No," sniffed Sakura," I'm so pathetic, aren't I?"

"Ha-ha, yeah," Naruto chuckled.

"You're supposed to feel sympathetic along with me, not laugh at me," Sakura scolded. She closed her eyes and a pestilent itch caused her to sneeze. In a flash, Naruto was behind her, covering her shoulders with the coat she had rejected not long ago.

"Thanks Naruto," Sakura breathed.

"Hey, no problem Sakura-chan. We should really focus on getting you happy, hip and staying alive," Naruto encouraged.

"I really mean it. Naruto, thank you so much for always being there for me, for being my friend. No matter what a jerk I've been to you, you're still there every time I need you. Thank you."

Naruto reached out and placed his hand gently on Sakura's forehead to see if there was something wrong with her. He expected a smack, but nothing of the sort happened. He was also surprised that she did not pull away or make any sudden movements. Instead, she batted her lashes a few times and smiled. She gave out a smile that Naruto always wondered if she had.

"Wow Naruto, I've just noticed. Have you had a growth spurt this month?" You're about as tall as me now!" Sakura laughed as she compared heights with her hands.

"Yeah," was all Naruto could mange.

Sakura gradually grew solemn, but she had not budged from the spot. She looked deeply into Naruto's clear, sapphire eyes.

_Oh no… what am I doing? Why am I doing this? I don't want to hurt him anymore than I have now. He must think that I- oh no! _Sakura thought. Something was slowly starting to rip apart inside of her. Drops of tears slid down her face.

"Oh god, Naruto… I'm so sorry! I don't even deserve this at all… you must hate me, don't you? I… I…" Sakura tossed his jacket back at him and ran off.

Naruto swiftly caught his jacket with no problem at all. He felt a huge lump inside his throat, preventing him to speak. The young genin forced a sound out anyways.

"Sakura…" Naruto whispered.

_It's my fault _Naruto thought. _I'm the one that should be saying sorry, not you. I'm the one who let him run off like that without much of a fight. You don't deserve a burden like me. I'm really sorry for not getting Sasuke back for you. And Sasuke… when I get my hands on you…_

The thought was interceded by the rustling aloft in a tree. The noise quickly subsided. Naruto sprang up onto the branch where he heard the sound. He spotted a young boy with his hair tied up in small black spikes. Another boy had two sections of hair sticking out and being separated by some sort of fabric strapped onto his head. His meaty cheeks were marked with a red spiral pattern that swirls inward. The thinner, black haired one turned to the fabric wearing one with a scowl on his face.

"I told you not to follow me, Chouji!" the black haired one hissed.

"But Shikamaru! You get all the cool missions!" Chouji, the swirly cheeked on complained.

"Well, thanks a lot captain obvious, but we're caught now!"

"I told you I suck at climbing!"

"Excuse me for _telling _you to come!"

"What the heck are you two doing here?" Naruto asked in a strained voice.

"Whoa Naruto, dude, are you crying?" Chouji wondered aloud, shocked.

"J-Just sweat from training," Naruto's voice shook just a smidge, but just enough for it to be obvious.

"Naruto, you haven't trained at all today," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Oh, so you WERE stalking me," Naruto rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"Technically, I was keeping an eye one you."

"For what?"

"That is highly classified."

At that moment, Naruto was experiencing something called 'déjà vu'. He loathed it so much with a burning passion. The same exact words came from that same annoying woman.

"Grandma Tsunade sent you on this," Naruto grumbled.

"So… how are you and Sakura doing?"

"What! What does that have to do with anything?"

"I saw you two. I saw the romance scene. I saw _everything._"

"Shikamaru, I'm not in the mood…" 

"What a drag… you're usually the one up for everything and having me say thinks I don't want to say. Let's all welcome karma now!"

"No, I won't. I'll never." 

"But tell me this, Naruto: Do you still like her? Like her more than just friends, that is."

"I... no. I don't like her."

_I love her…but I'm screwed if they knew that _Naruto thought.

"Tsk tsk," Chouji tsked," you're going to break her heart if you don't tell her soon."

"What the hell are you talking about, fatty?" Naruto growled.

"…Uh oh…" Shikamaru muttered.

"HOW MANY STINKING TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU: I AM NOT FAT!" Chouji boomed.

Shikamaru quickly glided two fingers around Chouji's shoulder plate and jabbed forcefully into his pressure point. Chouji let out a wild scream that possibly the other side of the world could hear and fell off the limb.

"Yeah, that's his most sensitive chakra point spot or something. I found it useful each time this happens," Shikamaru informed, blowing on his finger as if he were blowing smoked off a fired gun.

"Cool, can I try?"

"No, you wouldn't know where the pressure point is exactly!"

"Would so!"

"Oh man… this is the fifth time I did this to Chouji. He should be up by now."

"Fifth time today or fifth time ever?"

"Fifth time this hour."

"Wow..."

"Well, enjoy these moments of peace and being unwatched for now. We'll be back." Shikamaru warned. He leapt off the giant twig and struggled off, supporting Chouji's arm on his shoulder.

_Maybe, I don't love her at all. Maybe… I'm just saying that so I'd feel better about lying… _Naruto stared blankly out the window in his room into the blackness of the night.

_What was I thinking?_ Thought Sakura. _This will totally make Hinata mad at me… Besides, I could probably still be happy without a man. _Sakura took a moment to have her mind process over this until she conceded to herself.

_Why am I so desperate? Why has life come to _this_? _Sakura hugged the stuffed animal Sasuke had given to her for her birthday. _What was the name of the boy who gave me this? I can't remember…_

There was a light tapping at Sakura's door the next morning. It suited fine for her morning wake up call. She automatically got up out of bed to answer it. When she opened it, there was nobody there. She looked down upon her place mat to discover an envelope with sides carefully creased. Now, who would be sending her a letter these days? Probably someone who lived outside the leaf village… Something inside her head clicked.

_He responded! _Sakura mentally shouted as she headed inside to hastily rip the envelope apart.

Dear Sakura,

Sakura, what an artistic name you got there. It is very unique from all the other names I heard like Rin or Kagura. You're the first Sakura I ever spoke to, no doubt! I bet your physical appearance sparkles with beauty. If only I get to gaze upon your face from directly where I am…

So how are you? I'm glad you wrote to me. It's been so boring these days. I have to endure being called an annoying brat by my Master… my danna. He happens to be a puppet master. What about you, Sakura? If only it were possible to see you right now. I'm sure we could turn out to be great friends. Also, please forgive how long it took me to write back. I do live far away from here, you know.

Sincerely,

Deidara

_Why, I'm flattered! _Sakura gasped as she thought. She quickly ruffled through her drawers for photos and found one that looks similar as she does now: sparkling green eyes with short, pink hair cascading down at both sides right down to her cheeks. Looking fine, she pasted the picture onto the responding letter she was about to create.

Dear Deidara,

Your letter definitely made my day. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. Your writing is wonderful and I can see how thoughtful you are. As you can see, I have attached a picture of myself to this letter. Your name is really unique too, Deidara. When you mentioned my physical appearance sparkling with beauty? Oh, you flattered me!

How am I? Well, pretty much depressed. One of my teammates ran away from the village and I don't even remember his name! Oh, it's terrible! I would've gone after him if it weren't for you interceding. (You know I'm joking!!!) Yes, my life is now with my other teammate, some kid named Naruto. He is so annoying. And a puppet master? The only puppeteer I could recall of is Kankuro but he's from _Suna, the sand village. There's nothing for you to apologize for! I should be saying sorry to you for wasting your valuable time… You made me very happy today, Deidara. Thanks again!_

_XOXO Sakura_

_I know my parents told me not to tell anything to strangers… but what have I got to lose? Maybe I should've mentioned more about the guy who ran away from the village… I only want to know his name. Heck, I'll be beat to death into a bloody pulp if that is all it takes to know his name! _Sakura thought, while she folded up her letter and stuffed it into the envelope. She summoned her mail carrier, which happened to be a white dove, and handed it the letter. The feathery looking bird gingerly held it in its beak and flew off, knowing exactly where the mail was to be delivered.

_Just ten more days until I could possibly get a response, _thought Sakura as she watched the bird fading off in the distance in the horizon of the rising sun.


End file.
